EQAVET aims to increase the transparency, consistency and transferability of VET providers across Europe. It provides a common reference framework to VET providers to improve, monitor and evaluate their quality assurance policies and practices. It covers a quality improvement cycle (planning, implementation, evaluation and review) based on a selection of quality criteria, descriptors and indicators applicable to quality management at both system and provider levels.
However, EQAVET is a voluntary instrument that can be implemented progressively and in accordance with national legislation and practices. Since its adoption in 2009, VET providers in the EU countries tend to make less use of the descriptors than is evident at system level. VET providers often go through an accreditation and external or internal review process, but widespread use of the EQAVET cycle is not common. This shows that there is still room for improvement in reaching the VET provider level. The addressing of this is where the Q-Spirit project has set its objectives for.
The objectives of the project “EQAVET in Practice” are:
- Transnational Report on the usage of existing criteria, descriptors and indicators at provider level;
- Development of web-based interactive guidelines for interpretation of EQAVET criteria, descriptors and indicators according to national VET context;
- Updating of existing tools, methodologies and quality procedures according to the above guidelines.
